Inside the SPHL Podcast #28 – The SPHL Season Preview Show

LAFAYETTE, LA — The 14th season of the Southern Professional Hockey League begins on Friday night, and Mike Campos and Matthew Harding hold court on their second annual SPHL Season Preview Show!

In this marathon episode, recorded on October 17th, 2017, Mike and Matty bring back the voice of the Macon Mayhem, Erik Evenson, to announce our broadcast deal to air nine Mayhem regular season games, beginning with the season opener on Friday night.

Jimmy Gentry, our Fayetteville Marksmen writer, returning for his second season on Team Sin Bin, had some technical difficulties getting on the air, so Campos and Harding covered some current events – disagreeing on (almost) everything along the way.

The SPHL made a change to the first round of this season’s Presidents Cup Playoffs, and virtually everyone in the hockey media had an opinion, including NBC Sports and ESPN. We get some comments about how the change came into effect, possible reasons why teams may pick their opponents, and how clubs will disclose these playoff matchups from SPHL President Jim Combs.

Photo: NBC Sports

“Dart Guy,” the Toronto Maple Leafs fan who’s intense cigarette non-smoking during the NHL playoffs became a media sensation. He’s getting a radio show on Saturdays in Toronto.

If you were watching the NHL on Fox in the 90s, you remember the glowing FoxTrax puck whizzing across your screen. It looks like the NHL may be considering a return.

The first two weeks of the NHL season was marked by a sizable increase in stick fouls and faceoff violations. Look for stricter rule enforcement in the SPHL, according to Combs.

Finally, Gentry’s microphone begins to work, and we get to the business of breaking down the rosters of all of the SPHL teams. Mike, Matty, and Jimmy make their picks for regular season champions, dark horse teams, 2018 Presidents Cup champs, and the team who will be shaking hands with them once the season is done. The boys then go way out on a limb and predict which of the league’s coaches may find themselves on the hot seat this year.

For the record… Here are the picks.

Regular Season Champions

Campos – Huntsville Havoc

Gentry – Macon Mayhem

Harding – Fayetteville Marksmen

Dark Horse Team

Campos – Evansville Thunderbolts

Gentry – Fayetteville

Harding – Evansville

Presidents Cup Finalists

Campos – Fayetteville & Peoria Rivermen

Gentry – Huntsville & Peoria

Harding – Evansville & Fayetteville

Presidents Cup Champion

Campos – Peoria

Gentry – Peoria

Harding – Fayetteville

Coach on the Hot Seat

Campos – Derek Landmesser (Mississippi RiverKings)

Gentry – Sam Ftorek (Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs)

Harding – Jean-Guy Trudel (Peoria)

Finally… We wrapped up this episode by announcing our next two guests. Next week, SPHL President Jim Combs makes his return to the podcast. On Halloween night, look for the voice of the Rivermen, Brad Kupiec, to join the show.

Bonus: On November 7th, Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs broadcaster Brian Gardner is set to appear on the podcast.

Our thanks to the Macon Mayhem, Erik Evenson, and Jim Combs for being fantastic guests!

You can catch future episodes of Inside the SPHL on our brand-new The Sin Bin app –available in the iTunes and Google Play stores — or through a variety of podcast sharing platforms. Click on your preferred platform on the right side of this page and be sure to subscribe!